Bendy and the Paladins of Voltron
by NotSweetSkills0112943
Summary: We all love Bendy and the Ink Machine. We also lobe Voltron: Legendary Defenders. What happens when the paladins think they are Bendy characters?
1. Prologue

Lance opened his eyes, unsure where he was, or how he got here.

He looked around him, seeing only a closed door. There was a letter by his feet.

 _The only way to save them is to go through the door. Be careful. One wrong move, and they perish._

Lance widened his eyes. They? Who was they?

Surely, whoever wrote this letter could not be referring to the other paladins. However, it would explain why he didn't see them.

If the others were in danger, and the only way to save them was by going through that door, he would do it. He would take the risk.

Lance took a deep breath and stepped through the door.


	2. Chapter 1-LancePoV

When I stepped through the door, I wasn't sure what to expect. Probably the others, tied up and trying to warn me that this was a trap, get out of here, but I couldn't understand them because they had gags in their mouths like in those movies.

Instead, it was like I had stepped into one of my favorite video games. I couldn't remember the title at the moment, but the building seemed hand-drawn.

There was a thing on the wall labeled "Joey Drew Studios" and a projector in the corner of the room.

For some reason, my memory had been failing me. I stepped into the hallway to my left, where I saw a desk with a little drawing on it.

The drawing was Shiro.

I shivered. There was a lot of attention and detail in the drawing. Someone must have been really obsessed with Shiro to draw like this.

I turned behind me and stepped through the doorway. It was as if a whole family of Shiro-obsessed weirdos had lived here. There were sketches of him everywhere!

I went back to the first room and went right.

I tried going to the mini space on the left, but there was nothing there except a locked door. When I went right, I saw a message written on the wall: Dreams come true.

I shivered and turned to my left, where I was met with two separate hallways. I could only go straight, since the hall on my left had a closed gate. Who even has gates in hallways?

I made it to the end of the hall, then turned right. There was something blocking my way. I could have easily stepped over it, but I decided to jump it. Maybe it had been placed there on purpose, since it said, "watch your step."

Whoever designed this place didn't make it very practical.

I turned to my left and my mouth fell open. There was this seriously huge room, but it was blocked off with a fence. I wondered what was down there, so I looked around and found a switch. It was missing two batteries though.

Luckily, they were in the same room as me. I doubted whether to put them in or not, then decided it was a bad idea. It could be dangerous.

So, naturally, I put them in. If doing this led me to the others, I had no choice.

Immediately after pulling the switch, the room began to shake. I thought the ceiling was going to collapse on me, but then the chains started moving, pulling something out of the big hole in the center of the room.

If the others had been there, I would have made a funny joke and kept them from shaking. I found myself shaking instead, as a huge machine was pulled from the pit.

I could feel my neck hairs stand on end. This was dangerous. Very, very dangerous. I must be on the right track.

I still didn't see my friends. Maybe turning this thing on would reveal them?

I turned around and rushed back down the hallway I had just come.

When I jumped over the pipe in the floor, I noticed the gate had been opened. You know, the gate that had been blocking the hall on my left? Actually, that hall was now on my right... hm...

I turned left, where I was met with an audio recording. Curiously, I played it.

"I don't get what could be going on here. There are pipes everywhere, ink flowing all over the place. Worst of all, I can't seem to find any of my teammates.

"Also, get this, there is a room in here with all these pedestals. I think whoever owned this place had someone put stuff on the pedestals, which turned on the ink machine.

"Whoever owned this place must have lost their mind on the road to fame.

"I gotta hurry up and find a way outta here."

I recognized the voice immediately as Keith's. I had never heard him this annoyed.

Scratch that, I have.

I turned and went right instead. There was another desk, which I ignored. As I walked down this hall, I may or may not have jumped when a floorboard crashed from the ceiling right where I had been about to step. I turned to my left, and thought I saw someone strapped to a table. I was scared to go in there, because I thought I recognized the figure, but I went anyway to make sure I was wrong.

Unfortunately, I was right. Keith was strapped to the table, his body covered in blood.

I held in a sob as I turned around. There had to be a way to bring him back, right? I was supposed to get through this to save everyone.

Even if he was gone, I had to save the others. No way he would let this stop him. Keith would probably let this fuel his need to save the rest of us.

Taking a page out of his book, I went down the opposite hall, where I came into the room with all the pedestals. There were pictures above the pedestals. I walked up to the switch, which had a light blinking above it. Low pressure.

Figures.

I ran through the building again, collecting all the items above the pedestals: A Shiro plush (this was getting ridiculous), a music note (which I assumed meant some kind of record), a bottle of ink (couldn't I just grab a bottle and fill it with ink? There's plenty of that stuff around here), a gear (because they have a gear just laying around here), a book (why couldn't any book have worked? Or what if it's the wrong book?), and a wrench (the only one that makes the slightest bit of sense.)

I got back, but the pressure was still too low.

I walked into Keith's room, stumped for ideas.

"Keith, what am I supposed to do? The pressure is still too low!" I complained, not caring that I sounded like a whining child.

Thankfully, he didn't move. I say thankfully, becauuse hhe was officially dead, and if he moved that would have freaked me out. I stared at his very-much-dead face, and something occurred to me.

I had never walked down the hallway the auio log was in.

Thanking the Dead Keith, I ran back to that hallway, playing the audio again to assure myself that he wasn't really dead.

I got to the turn in the hallway when a cardboard cutout popped up. It wasn't Shiro, thankfully, but rather a funny-looking cat thing. Or maybe a mouse?

Whatever it was, it stayed out for 2 seconds before disappearing behind the corner. I finally rounded, and I saw a projector room. I explored the little room, jumping slightly when the projector started up on its own.

I moved behind the projector to turn it off when I saw the pump control switch. I smiled as I turned it on, but the smile left my face when the pipe burst, spilling ink into the room. I ran out, the ink still flowing, and headed back to the pedestal room.

Before entering, I walked to the Dead Keith.

"Don't worry buddy. I know you're still alive," I said to it.

I left, trying not to let tears fall. I had a job to do.

The switch in the wall finally said ready, so I pulled it. The lights in the building turned off, and I quickly left the room.

I glanced into Keith's room, and bolted for the ink machine. I don't think dead bodies are supposed to convulse like that.

When I got to the ink machine, I noticed immeditaely that the room was boarded up.

Panic building, I stepped closer to the boards, reaching for my bayard. I don't know why I didn't pull it when I first got here.

Oh, maybe that's why. I didn't have it.

Pulse racing, I reached the boards. I fell backwards as something tried to reach for me when I got close enough.

When I sat back up, my breath caught in my throat.

"S-Shiro?" I stammered out.

Shiro was wearing his paladin armor, but it was covered in ink, unlike mine which was spotless, and unlike Keith's (thankfully) which was covered in blood. His eyes were pure black.

In a rush of adrenaline, I fled. Somehow, I remembered where the exit was.

I raced down the small hall, thinking I would make it. The door was opened ajar.

Just as I reached the door, the floor below me gave way and I fell, hard.

With no idea how I survived that fall (or how I had stayed conscious) I stood. Looking down, I realized the only way I was still alive was because I had landed in ink.

There was an audio recording and a valve. I turned on the recording as I slowly cranked the valve.

"It's cold, dark, and everywhere. The pipes were not designed to hold all this much ink!

"I tried fixing some of them so they wouldn't leak everywhere, but no luck. Pidge and I are practically swimming in this stuff!

"We found that if the valves are turned, the ink will drain, so there's that.

"I'm not wasting time with fixing these pipes anymore."

I started slightly when I heard Matt's voice.

I finished turning the valve, and the ink drained immediately. There were two more after that one, so I turned them.

When I finally drained the last stairwell, I came into a whole new room. My bayard was displayed proudly on a table, so I picked it up. Instead of turning into a blaster as per usual, it turned into an axe.

There was another boarded-up hallway behind me. I half expected Shiro to jump out at me again, but he didn't. I used my axe to chop through the boards. I finally came upon a barricaded door, but my axe didn't have a problem getting me through there.

When I opened the door, my vision started shaking. I stumbled into the center of the room, but that was a mistake.

Memories came flooding into me. The training room, then the others shouting, then Haggar. I passed out.


	3. Chapter 2

I know him. I know I know him. He's-ugh. I know him.

I also know my name. Acxa. I think. Maybe he knows?

I know him, so maybe he knows me? Maybe I should go out there and-

No! He's waking up.

"Oh, man. Lance, what did you do now?" He says to himself. Maybe I should follow him.

He is leaving now. He picks up the toy-what did he call it? A bayard?- and chops down the barricade I set up.

It keeps them out. He has no idea what he's doing.

No, this is him. This is the sheep I must collect. I must begin.

I shake myself off. Ok, Lance, very funny.

As I open the door, I notice a stairwell. Walking down, another board falls.

I rub my arms, trying to stop the goosebumps now crawling up my skin.

When I reach the bottom of the stairs, I see another Shiro cutout. Great. I hadn't been imagining that.

I turned in a full circle, noticing another audio log.

I played it, of course, out of curiosity.

"He is there every time I close my eyes.

"I have no idea who he is, but I know of my feeling for him. No, wait, I do know him. My memories are slipping.

"I cannot-will not- forget him. I know I love him.

"Perhaps he will remind me of all I have forgotten."

I shivered as I recognized Acxa's voice. I realized with a start that she must have been referring to Keith. So, Keith had a fangirl, huh?

(A lot more than just one, Lance! -me)

I would have to tease Keith about this when I saw him.

I remembered what happened. Keith was...

No. He had to still be-

"Perhaps you're the one," said a voice. I knew it was Acxa.

"Acxa?" I asked to the darkness. No response.

I turned and there was another hallway. This building is obsessed with Shiro, cats, and hallways.

As I waded through the ink-filled hallway, I saw Acxa walk past, mumbling something and carrying a Shiro.

"Hey, Acxa!" I call out, running through the rest of the ink to reach her.

By the time I get there, she's gone, and all I see is that creepy/stupid Shiro. I chop it down with my bayard out of frustration.

I turn around, and there's a closed gate. Great. More hunting.

Luckily, I found three switches. Two of them were on the other side of the ink hall, so that was fun.

The final one was behind a wall of cans. They were labeled "Bacon Soup" but I didn't trust them.

Anything could happen down here.

I pulled that switch, and the gate opened. I stepped through, but it was so dark I couldn't see anything. I felt around a little bit and found the switch to an audio log. There were also a lot of these things around.

"There's a flooded stairwell here. Three marks to indicate it has flooded three times. This must be the forth.

"My memories are fading, but I can't forget Keith. He-he can save me.

"There's a pump switch in an office. Looks like a music writing lounge or something.

"I feel for whoever that composer was. Stupid songs don't write themselves, right?"

This must have been recorded before that one I listened to first.

I feel around some more, looking for that stairwell she mentioned.

There's a dim light, so I walk toward it. This is it.

This is the stairwell.

But it's still flooded.

There's a switch to my right, so I pull it. Immediately, lights flash on in the previous room, revealing a jumbo sign that reads "Music Department."

I walk back out, hoping to find some clues to drain the stairwell, when suddenly these ink monsters pop out of the ground. I counted seven of them in total.

I swing with my bayard. It doesn't take much, just one or two hits and they're down.

Some creepy music plays, and suddenly a gate to my left that I hadn't noticed before opens. I walk in, unsure what to expect.

As I'm walking down yet another hallway (seriously, what is with this place and these hallways?) I look to my left, seeing a mini hall (ugh I am done with these halls) leading to an infirmary. I shake my head, reminding myself to pay attention.

Finally, I come across a room. There's ink flowing all over the door, and I can't get it to stop. This must be the office Acxa was talking about.

I find yet another audio log. My heart stops to hear Keith's voice.

"There's something hidden in the closet. Acxa and I were separated, I have no idea where she is.

"I hid the keys in a trashcan. I can't remember which one. My memories are fading, fast.

"I can't even remember my own name anymore.

"I can't let Acxa find out about this.

"I hope we can hurry up and find a way outta here."

I release a breath I hadn't realized I had been holding. Keith was losing his memories, too.

He had seemed so freaked out. The panic in his voice-that just wasn't Keith.

But now, I had a lead. I searched through every trash can I came across (don't worry, they were all empty) and finally found the keys.

I went back to the office and opened the closet door.

Another audio log.

"Keith is losing his memories. I can tell.

"I was talking to him, but he wasn't responding to his name.

"I found out how to get into the office.

"There's a room with a projector. Go in there and turn it on. If you look out the big window, you'll see the projector is projecting something onto a white screen.

"Now, go back down the stairs and into that room. There should be a bunch of instruments there. You must play them in a certain order before the projector turns off.

"Play the violin first.

"Then, the drum.

"Next, you play the piano.

"Then finally, the banjo.

"I just hope Keith and I can get through this."

So, she knew. I walk away from the closet, a hollow feeling in my chest. I'm getting closer and closer to getting out, but all my friends are in trouble.

I follow her instructions. I walk up into a projector room, and I find another audio log. I decide to listen to it before turning on the projector.

"I'm glad this happened.

"I'm just up here out of curiosity, checking out the projector, when I look down and see Acxa and Keith in the room below me.

"I knock on the glass, and that alerts them to my presence.

"They told me what's going on. If it wasn't for chance, I wouldn't have known.

"Unfortunately, they don't tell me what they're doing. Keith seems distracted, silent, and unresponsive.

"Acxa whispers to me that he's losing his memories."

I continue on, following the instructions Acxa gave me, which opens up a gate in the wall. Before entering, I notice another audio log by a recording window.

"I don't know what this place is, but despite the creepy atmosphere, I kind of enjoy this place.

"You can really see the hard work and dedication that went into everything.

"I ran into Hunk, who told me what's been going on.

"We decided it would be best if we split up. Perhaps these recording devices will help the other paladins locate us.

"I just hope we can find everyone."

The last two audio logs playing in my mind, I enter the room, pulling the switch to stop that huge flow.

As I'm exiting, I look up at the window to see Acxa. I wave up to her, but she doesn't respond..

I'm about to leave so I can join her up there, when suddenly those ink things attack me again. I start shouting, but Acxa just stands there, watching.

I turn all of my attention back to those ink things.

Using my bayard, I start chopping them all down. Soon, they're gone.

I look back up at the window to say something to Acxa, maybe about how helpful she was, but she's gone.

I knew I couldn't just sit there, so I left and headed back up to the office.

Just as Acxa had mentioned, the ink had stopped flowing. I silently congratulated myself, thanking Keith and Acxa along the way. As I enter the room, I notice a little radio. I turn it on because the silence is starting to scare me, and nod my head to the tune that's playing. Man, this is catchy.

I pull the switch to drain the stairwell to my freedom, then I head out.

I'm almost to the stairwell when I get hit from behind. The pain blinds me, and I fall to my knees. I look up to see Acxa drop a shovel and pick up my bayard.

Shortly after hitting him, he passes out. Good. That makes this easier for me.

Where have I seen him before? It does not matter. I must get the feared one's help if I'm to find the one in my dreams.

I bring him to my current residence. There is rope in the corner.

Rope. Good. Rope is good. He cannot escape.

He stirs. I must hurry.

When I opened my eyes, the first thing I became aware of was that I was being tied up.

It took a few seconds to blink the stars out of my eyes.

I finally remember what's going on.

Acxa.

"Acxa," I say, annoyed at the weakness in my voice.

"I can't let you escape, now, can I? We can't have that."

My bayard is in the corner, out of my reach. Acxa backs up to admire her work.

"No, we wouldn't."

She looks me straight in the eyes.

"I feel-" she pauses for a second, thinking of the right word. I take this moment as an opportunity.

"Acxa, please, listen. The guy you see when you close your eyes? That's Keith! I know you love him, and he loves you back! He just has too much pride to admit it!" I try.

I can see her eyes clear a little bit as she registers everything I just told her.

"Keith?" she mumbles, hopefully remembering the name.

"It sounds familiar to me... that name..."

She backs up, shaking her head.

"Not now," she says, eyes clouding over, my hopes sinking. "He is on his way. He will come and get you."

She walks out of the room, but first she cuts me loose. I look at her, curious.

"Maybe you are correct. Maybe-" she stops, cutting herself off mid-sentence. She walks away.

She comes on over the speaker, and I rush to grab my bayard.

"Come here, oh Feared One. Come and take this lovely prize!"

I zoned out after that. Feared One? She must be talking about Shiro...

But I am flattered to have been called a lovely prize!

Clutching my bayard, I run out into the hall. There are boards in my way, so I cut them down. After the last piece of wood had been chopped, my bayard returned to normal. I tried to get the axe back, but no luck. I stuck it in the holster, and walked on forwards. There was a hall to my left, but a door right in front of me. There was ink blocking it.

Besides, the left hall was blocked off, and my stupid bayard didn't seem to wanna work anymore.

As I trudged forward, ink started climbing the walls. I took a step back as Shiro appeared out of nowhere, stepping toward me.

I turned and ran, but I noticed that the hall was now unblocked. Running that way, I turned and saw Shiro right on my tail, so I picked up the pace.

There was a door up ahead. I charged through it, and heard it slam shut behind me, effectively shielding me from Shiro's attack.

I turned around and saw there was a board hanging across from it. There was another door in front of me, so I walked through.

As I came nearer a corner, and can of Bacon Soup rolled to a stop in front of me.

"Who are you?" I called, my voice shaking. I cleared my throat, and my voice came out more confident than I felt.

"Show yourself."

It was a face I hadn't been expecting to see, but a face I had been longing to see ever since that room upstairs.

"Keith?"


	4. Chapter 3

It doesn't look like he's going to hurt me.

She will though.

His face is so... familiar to me.

Maybe we know each other?

No, that's impossible. We can't know each other.

But he looks familiar. So familiar, it hurts.

Maybe I could ask him.

No. I can't talk.

But, maybe if I help him, he could reveal things to me.

Keith. That was what he had called me. Was that my name? It sounds familiar.

Trolololollololololololololoololololloloollololololololollololololollilololololilililoli

I opened my eyes and found myself still sleeping in that room.

Keith wouldn't let me leave. My wrists were red from being tied up, and the knot in my head was still big.

I had to leave today. One could only go so long playing tic-tac-to with your rival.

I walked into the kitchen/living room, where I saw Keith sitting at the table, setting up for our next match.

I walked over to the door again, but this time he didn't try to stop me, as if he thought I was ready.

Of course, there was no lever to open the door.

Keith probably had it, so I walked over and sat down across from him.

"Hey Keith," I said to him. He just nodded with a grim expression on his face, as if he knew what I was about to ask for.

"If I make you soup, will you give me the lever?" I asked him. His face relaxed a little, and I realized he must be lonely in here.

"I'll even let you come along?" I offered. He looked slightly less worried now, which was good. Maybe he was worried for me.

He shook his head no, then put his finger to my head. It took me a second, but I finally got it.

"You wanna remember?" I guessed, and his face lit up. I smiled.

"Your name is Keith Kogane," I started. I decided not to tell him about our rivalry. He could be reminded in time.

"My name is Lance McClain. We used to be classmates at the Garrison, a place that teaches people how to fly. You left, but one year later we met again when you were rescuing a friend."

I smiled at the memory.

"We went into outer space together, and we fight bad guys. You always have my back."

Keith reached over and wiped the tears off my face. I hadn't realized I was crying until Keith did that.

"Remember that?" I asked him. He shook his head no, but he did seem much better. I wondered what it would feel like to not remember anything. To just have this giant hole in your memories.

It must have been killing him, not knowing anything. I put a hand on his shoulder.

"Hey, buddy, I swear, I will help you get your memories," I said to him. He smiled gratefully, then reached down and pulled out a toolbox, handing it to me.

I looked at him, curious, and he gestured to the toolbox.

I opened it, and inside was a lever.

I smiled, taking the lever and attaching it to the panel. As I stepped outside, I felt a presence behind me. Keith was following.

"Worried I'll die without you?" I asked, in my usual I'm-better-than-you voice.

He nodded, all seriousness written on his face, and walked ahead of me.

I followed.

We came up to what looked like a porta potty, and he demonstrated how climbing inside would render you almost invisible to the outside world.

We moved on, coming up to a dark hallway. There was a jumbo flashlight, so I grabbed it and clicked it on.

"Don't wander off, and don't get lost, ok?" I said to him. It was weird seeing Keith so silent, and he looked scared to go on.

I forged ahead, Keith right on my tail.

Halfway through the hallway, we heard a noise like footsteps above us.

"Did you hear that? Yeah, I didn't hear it either," I said, a nervous chuckle escaping my lips at a chance at a bad joke.

I turned around and saw Keith crouched on the floor, hands over his ears and his eyes shut tight. The sight of my butt-kickiest friend trembling on the floor at a noise tugged at my heart, so I crouched down and pulled his hands off his ears.

"Hey, Keith, it's alright," I whispered. He stopped shaking and opened his eyes. I cupped my hand under his chin, bringing his eyes up to meet mine.

"I'm here for you, buddy," I continued. He looked so much like a child, that I leaned down and kissed the top of his forehead.

Oh, god. Hopefully, when this was over, he wouldn't remember any of this.

"Now, come on. We have to find a way out of here."

He still looked scared, but he nodded and stood up. We finally reached the end of the dark hall.

"See? That wasn't so bad, now, was it?"

Keith gave me a dark look. The door behind us closed shut.

"Great."

I looked at the door in front of us, also closed tight.

Keith was looking around the room, and suddenly his eyes zeroed in on a vent.

"Got an idea buddy?"

He nods, and I hand him the flashlight. He takes it, and crawls into the vent. I'm about to follow when suddenly it slams shut on me. Keith starts banging on the other side, and I rush to calm him down.

"Hey, hey, it's alright. I'll meet you on the other side. You have the flashlight, remember?"

He bangs on it again, more out of annoyance than fear, and I get what he's trying to convey.

"You're afraid I'm going to do something stupid and get myself killed, aren't you?"

No response. I can practically feel him nodding.

I can hear him crawl away. I take this moment to let out a strangled sob. I have to save the rest of my friends. Maybe the only way to do that was to get all their memories back.

I shake my head, trying to push away any negative thoughts building up. I'm the bright, happy, flirty one. I'm the supercool ninja sharpshooter! Not the little whiny baby who's afraid of letting down his friends if he doesn't-

Stop it, Lance. Supercool ninja sharpshooter, remember?

Suddenly, the door opens. I smile and walk through.

There's another dark room up ahead. Of course, there is.

This place is starting to become predictable. I wouldn't be surprised if Shiro was waiting in that room for me.

My mouth falls open at the sight before me. The room lights up, revealing a large hanging sign that reads "Heavenly Toys."

There are plushies everywhere. Thankfully, none of them were of Shiro. There were dog plushies, cat plushies, and human plushies. There's a miracle station behind me, with an audio log inside. This time, I don't recognize the voice.

"This breaks the rules.

"He took my powers from me.

"This is too cruel.

"Beware the newer Bendy."

It was a little song, and I played it one more time to make sure I had heard the words right. The second time was slightly different from the first time.

"Retrieve my power.

"Stop him now.

"Free your friends.

"Or it's The End.

"Retrieve my power

"But completing his game.

"Pretend you did not hear this.

"I am not supposed to be here."

I shivered. As the last word was said, the audio log crumbled before my eyes. So, she said I had to make it to the end or something? Alright. Challenge accepted.

There was a staircase to my left, so I took it. At the top was a lever, but I couldn't pull it. I followed the cord, thinking there must be something blocking the connection.

There kind of was. The cords were connected to this big machine. I looked around. There was a hanging shelf of plushies, along with another audio log. There was a door hiding just behind the plushies. I would probably have to pull that first lever to turn on this machine, which would hopefully move that case.

For now, I was listening to the audio. It was that girl again.

"Sing the songs, new and old.

"Sing them loud, sing them bold.

"Please the newest old trio

"Of Boris, Alice, and Bendy."

That last one did NOT rhyme. Bendy, Boris, and Alice?

I guessed the human girl thing was Alice, and I'll unsafely assume that Boris is the dog thing. I've already heard Bendy's name and deduced him as the cat.

I got the machine working, and I managed to move the shelf. When I stepped through the door, I noticed a bunch of televisions and a recording studio.

As I walked farther in the room, the lights all turned out and the door behind me closed. The studio light turned on, as did all of the TVs. A song started playing on them.

"I'm a princess from a planet, which no longer exists, and my father was taken too.

"But I wear a bright smile, and I have wonderful friends.

"I can stay strong.

"My team and I work to keep up the fight, we each have our own fight.

"But mostly they're after me.

"As long as their safe, I don't really mind.

"I must be brave.

"I'm not like any other princess, I really put up my fight.

"My memories have all disappeared, along with my team…"

There was a pausing silence as a spotlight shone on the recording booth and the TVs all turned off. Suddenly, Allura was at the window, banging to be released. Her outfit was all torn and there was ink all over her face, her eyes dull and uncomprehending.

"Find the lost and free the rest!" She shouted. The lights went off, bathing the room in darkness. I could hear her break through the glass, and instinctively I reached for my bayard.

It didn't do anything.

The glass broke, and I heard a noise I never thought I would hear come from Allura's mouth.

Insane laughter.

It tore my heart open to hear her next words.

"I can see you," She taunted. "Another prisoner in the endless war. Come to me. Perhaps I can help you find your memories."

More evil laughter, then the lights come back on. A hall had opened up to my left. I decided to go through, hoping to find Allura.

I turned a corner to see-another corner for me to turn. I walked closer, but another Bendy cutout jumped out at me. I totally didn't jump.

Yeah, totally.

I continued on my way. I promise, I did NOT scream when I rounded the corner.

But, in my defense, Keith was just standing there, all silence.

"Don't DO THAT!" I said to him.

He smiled, seemingly pleased with himself. I put my hand to my chest, trying to calm myself. He noticed and frowned.

"I'm fine, just a little jumpy."

I watched as his face turned from worry to pure terror as I told him about Allura.

"Is she after you or something?" I asked him. He nodded gravely.

Keith noticed my bayard, which was still in my hand from my encounter with Allura. He held out his hand for it. I gave it to him.

Suddenly, my bayard turned into a pipe. He handed it back to me, satisfied that at least I could defend us now.

There was a door behind him. The two of us shared a look, and silently, I stepped through.

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What happened? How did I do that?

No matter. He had a weapon now. He could protect himself.

Why am I being so protective? Because, I tell myself, he holds my memories. My name is Keith. He knows her. She is after me. She's going to get me! She's-

He must have seen my discomfort, because he put a hand on my shoulder.

"Hey, she won't get you. Not if I can help it."

I smile gratefully. Somehow, I know she has to get me. It's the only way to get my memories back.

He's upset. In pain. He knows us all. What I would give to ask him all my questions. He called her Allura.

She's after me.

He squeezes my shoulder, and my smile returns.

Lance… wait…

Blue lion. He pilots the blue lion. I'm the red Paladin.

My smile falls. Those thoughts… I remembered something.

Acxa is here. Her memories are gone, too.

Slowly, I can feel the memories fade. I try to hold on to them as long as I can, but eventually settle for certain ones.

Hunk.

Lance.

Allura.

Shiro.

Pidge.

Coran.

Acxa.

The names narrow down to just Lance and Acxa. Also, I remember my name. Keith.

I'm finally feeling truly better than I have in a while. I remembered something, and while it didn't last, I remembered more than I did before finding Lance. I even remembered his name now.

If only I could place a face to the name Acxa. I need to find her. She's alone, probably confused, and without her memories.

We step through the door, Lance in the lead. I'm following behind like a dog. There are clocks all over the walls, which we both ignore. We walk through the maze of the room, finally making it to the end.

There's a closed gate and a switch.

"Looks like there's another switch we have to pull," he says. I nod.

His eyes follow the second cord, reaching around the corner.

"Wait here. I'll go and pull the other switch," he says to me. I nod. I shouldn't let him go off on his own, but he stands a better chance at defending himself than protecting both of us.

He walks away. I pull my switch, waiting for his return. Suddenly, I hear him screaming. I turn sharply, ready to charge in the direction that he went, but he comes back before I can move.

"All good," he says, out of breath. I look at him questioningly.

"Scared by this thing. It came out of a picture."

"Was attacked by something. It came out of a poster. I'm fine, really," he rushed to assure me.

If he was still alive, I felt fine. I nodded affirmatively and watched as the gate opened for us. We stepped through, and I swear, I heard him mumble something about hallways. There's an elevator at the end, so we take it. As soon as Lance joins me inside, the doors close and we start descending.

I panic as I hear her voice.

"So, you actually decided to follow me? That's adorable. Oh, well, you'll have to do.

"Most people would have run with fear by now. Not you.

"I must say, I respect that about you. Unwilling to back down from a fight."

She pauses, as if remembering something. The elevator comes to a stop, and the doors open.

"Come on out, little prisoner. You're World is about to change."

Evil laughter, then her voice is gone.

I look over at Lance. His face is twisted in pain, as though remembering the other person she once was. I feel bad for him.

He looks over at me, and he smiles. The pain doesn't leave his eyes, but he smiles anyways.

"You have a girlfriend," he says. I stare at him. He smiles wider.

"Her name is Acxa. You guys aren't official, but she likes you, dude."

Acxa. Yes, I know her. I always felt a tug towards her name, as though she were special to me. I could never remember her.

Now I did. And I had to get back to her.

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I glanced back at Keith, who had a sour expression on his face. Of course, this wasn't uncommon, but with Keith not knowing he's Keith, it felt a little weird.

I grabbed his shoulder again, and he gave me another small smile.

We stepped out of the elevator. There were some stairs ahead of us.

As we went down them, I stopped to listen to the audio tape I happened to find. Keith stopped, too.

"I thought the pipes were bad.

"These elevators are worse!

"A couple of times, Pidge and I were waiting for the elevator, but guess what?

"It never came!

"I've fixed them for the most part, but I'm still going to be cautious. Whoever designed anything in this place really did not do a good job.

"We should just take the stairs."

I frowned at how much Matt was complaining about this place. Sure, everything he was complaining about was true, but he never usually complained.

Unless it regarded Pidge's safety.

We continued on, stopping at a huge metal door with a sign on top.

"She's quite a gal!" It read. Yes, Allura sure was something.

Keith nudged me with a smirk on his face, and I realized that thinking about Allura had put a stupid grin on my face.

"Oh, shut up."

That made him smile harder, then he started laughing. I laughed along with him.

It felt so good to stand there with Keith, listening to him laugh. With our pride, neither of us had ever really tried to bond. I would have to change that when we got out of here.

We stopped laughing when the door before us opened.

Keith seemed to freeze. There was a shocked expression on his face. I was about to ask if he was alright, but he bolted right through the door.

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Was Lance following me? I had no idea.

I know what I had heard. My senses were heightened. I would never have been able to hear that otherwise.

I heard Lance running behind me, right on my tail.

I was getting closer to that sound. It sounded like…

Ink?

I stopped. The sight that met my eyes was grueling.

"Keith! What was that? Are you-"

The question died on his lips as he saw what I saw.

"Alright…"

That came out as more of a mumble.

There was another me. Strapped to a table. Covered in blood.

Lance let out a sob I just realized he must have been holding in since he got here.

"Sorry. It's just-"

He pauses, searching for the right words.

"When I first got here, you had recorded an audio log. Then I found your body, strapped to a table, exactly like this. I had thought-"

He stops again, tears running freely down his cheeks.

"And then the rest of us, the others…"

I give him a few moments, then he recovers himself. When he's back up, I give him a hug.

"Thanks. Sorry about that."

I wave my hand in an effort to let him know that it's no big deal. I explore the room a bit, ignoring all the other me's on the tables, and see a door at the other end of the room.

I point to it, and Lance follows my gaze. He starts toward it, but I stay.

"You wanna stay here?"

I nod, my eyes going back to the me strapped to the table. She is behind that door, and it's dangerous for me to go near her.

"Alright. I get it."

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And I did. I really got it.

She's after him. I know that much.

Question was, why? Why did Allura want him so bad?

I mean, sure, maybe I was slightly jealous that she was so desperate for him…

But as of right now, it wasn't about me. It was about Keith.

And Allura. And something I might be missing between the two…

Sorry! Got distracted.

Anyway, I walked toward the door. I glanced back to see Keith tense up when her voice came over the speaker.

"You see all of them? None of them had what I was looking for. None of them could help me."

"Allura," I said. "Allura, it's me, Lance."

Silence.

"Yes. You are. You have all of them."

"All of what?"

"Memories."

That explained it. Allura wouldn't be so desperate to get Keith if she had her memories. She thought he had them all.

Maybe Keith was the key to getting their memories back. But I had to give them to him first.

Ugh! This whole thing was making my head hurt!

I finally made it to the door. First, though, I had to listen to this conveniently placed audio log. It was Allura. Keith heard it, too, and listened closely, though his eyes never left the him strapped to that table.

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"Who would have thought?

"Here I was, wondering where everyone could be, when Keith wanders in!

"I tried calling to him, but he seemed-unresponsive. Like he didn't recognize his name.

"Right. His memories.

"Mine were fading, too.

"No one has seen Lance. Maybe he is the key to keeping our memories.

"That would be nice."

He played the log. I didn't know what to expect from that thing.

So, I knew this "Lance," did I?

This could work to my advantage. He grew ever closer to me.

He stepped into the room I was in. This should be fun.

I couldn't help but feel shock with how confidently he walked in.

"Allura?" He asked me. As if I would know my name.

"So, you're here." I hoped he didn't notice the slight blush on my face. He was rather cute looking.

Too bad I had to kill him.

"We've now come to the question: will you turn him over, or do I have to take him by force?"

He knew immediately who I was talking about.

"Allura, this isn't you. I know you! You would never even consider hurting a friend!"

That description of me did ring a bell. Almost as if he were telling the truth.

"How about this: do my bidding for a bit, and I'll let you continue on your way with him. Deny this offer, and you can say goodbye to both him and your life."

He looked hesitant, as if he thought he could convince me to believe his silly little lies. Which he couldn't.

Well, not entirely.

"Fine. I'll do what you want. But I keep Keith?"

"I promise."

Of course, I was lying. Once he was dead, I would take him from this boy. Two birds with one stone.

He thought for a moment, then resigned.

"Alright. What do I have to do first?"

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"Collect a bunch of inky hearts!! Can you believe it?!"

Lance had been ranting about this little "quest" of his for the whole elevator ride. My ears were starting to hurt.

He refused to tell me why he was doing this. All I knew was that it had something to do with me.

"Level 11."

The elevator doors open, and Lance steps out. This wasn't new.

Previously, his "bayard" has turned into an axe, a wrench, a syringe, and a plunger. He's had to collect a bunch of crazy things for her.

This time, he just had the pipe. He seemed slightly upset by that, but hey, what could I do about that?

He picked up the first heart, which was hanging out on the stairs, when I saw him.

I tugged Lance back and pointed to him.

"Hunk…" he whispered.

Lance knew this guy, too.

"Hunk," as named by Lance, was coming our way, but made a turn to the right instead. I breathed a sigh of relief. We hadn't been caught.

But Lance could have looked better. He looked like he was coming apart at the seams.

I tapped his shoulder, causing him to look at me. I put my finger to his chest, then his head, then pointed at myself. I had no idea if he would get my message, but he seemed to.

"You're right. I don't need to hurt him," he said. I smiled.

He looked out over the home of the Hunk.

"Let's do this."

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"Finally!"

They were back. Unfortunately, Lance hadn't died while he was out.

He put the hearts in the box. There was not a splash of ink on him. This infuriated me, but at the same time I admired him for it.

"Alright, I got everything you asked for. Can we go now?"

His friend looked confused. Did Lance not tell him why he had been doing all of this?

"Yes, you can go."

He looked so happy, believing I would let them out. The elevator had started going up.

"You know," I said into the speaker. "I've always wondered what I've forgotten."

My finger moved to hover over the button that would shut off the elevator. A drop from level K would most certainly kill him.

"Perhaps we know each other? Perhaps there are others of us here."

I hesitated. Yes, I had often wondered these things, but why was I telling him this?

"There are, Allura. And we do know each other. You saved my life, remember?"

I flashed back to myself, wearing this outfit. I ran into a giant cat. I crouched beside a chair, and there he was. Lance, with no pulse, no breathing, nothing.

I put my hand on his chest. He takes a deep breath. He opens his eyes.

I come back to the present, tears in my eyes. How can I do this to him, now that I've remembered that?

"Yes," I whisper. "Yes, I do remember. You weren't breathing."

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I wasn't breathing?

I remembered taking a big hit for Allura. Then I looked over at her, crouched beside my chair, crying. She hugged me.

I had always assumed she saved my life before I croaked that day, but maybe I did croak. Maybe she brought me back.

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I remembered that.

I hadn't been there when she brought him back to life, but I remember a bright light coming for a blue cat. She had been inside that cat.

A red cat, the one Lance had been in, took the hit for her.

I remembered she ran to it, went inside. She had been in there for a while. The two of them had come back out, her supporting his weight, tears in her eyes.

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I can't do this.

He holds the keys to my memories.

Wait… what am I saying?

I can't be with him! Sure, I remembered it. Using the cameras, I saw him. The one I'm after. He remembered it too.

"Nice try," I say, anger lacing my every word. "But you can't help me."

I push the button, tears streaming down my cheeks. I turn away from the screen as the elevator crashes.

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Come on Lance, wake up!

Please! Just wake up!

Why can't I talk? Why can't I shout at him to get up?

She's behind me. I can hear her coming. Please, Lance, just open them!

He's waking up. He's waking up!

She's closer now.

"Keith," he whimpers. There's no way he can fight her in this condition.

"Behind you!" He whisper shouts. I know she's right behind me. I can feel her breathing down my neck.

Lance clutches his stomach as he tries to get up. I push him back down.

It'll be ok.

I stand, and I can feel her grab my shoulders.

She steers me away from Lance. I can see him still. He's trying to come for me.

His body is too weak. I turn away, knowing he's blacked out.


	5. Chapter 4

Keith… she's behind you.

I wake up, alarmingly calm.

There's elevator debris all around me. My body is too sore to move.

I have to save Keith.

Ignoring my aching body, I stand. My bayard is on the floor. Good. I pick it up, and immediately it turns into a pipe. Also good.

There's a hallway in front of me. The same hallway she had come from.

The same hallway that led to Keith.

I walked down the hall. Well, more limped, really, but same thing.

Alone, I finally let myself cry about what was happening. None of my friends remembered anything. Hunk and Allura wouldn't hesitate to kill me, Shiro had fun watching me run from him with fear, and Acxa and Keith were stuck in a love story.

Now, I might lose Keith. I might lose all of them if I don't get their memories back to them.

I reach the end of the hall to find a bunch of stairs.

"Why is this place so big?" I ask myself.

I start walking up the stairs. Near the top, Allura comes on the speakers.

"So, you survived."

Is it just me, or does she sound slightly relieved?

"This should make things more interesting."

I start racing up the stairs. I finally reach the top.

"He knows you're coming for him. Don't worry, I'm taking very good care of him."

She laughs evilly then turns off the speaker.

Tears are still streaming down my face. I don't care. My pride could wait. For now, my friends were all that mattered.

There was a zip line boat to my left. Another stupid hallway in front of me, and a funny looking machine to my right.

I studied the machine. There was a knob on the side, displaying a cup icon. I turned it, changing the cup to a gear.

Turning around, I decided to look at the boat. It was only way across that chasm, but it wouldn't move.

It was missing a gear.

I turned to the door. The machine could make me the gear, which I could use to make the boat move. Since this place seemed to run mostly on ink, I figured I would need some ink to make this thing barf up a gear.

I opened the door. It was just a hallway.

I got halfway down when the hall started to shake. The colors dimmed and contrasted, and hands shot out of the walls.

I screamed, ducking against the hands that were trying to grab me. They were hands I recognized.

My sister. My brothers. My niece and nephew. My mom and dad. Hunk. Pidge. Shiro. Coran. Allura.

Keith.

I screamed as I ran, trying to reach the end of the hall. Finally, at the end, the hands disappeared. I must be losing it.

Breathing heavily, I turn around. I pull and activate my bayard when I see this ink all pooled up. As I walk closer, an ink thing pops out. As he comes out, an ink heart drops. I take another step closer, but he disappears, leaving me alone with the ink heart.

I inch closer and pick it up. It's a little harder than it should be…

Wait. I could use this.

I run back through the Hand Hall, keeping my head down because, reasons.

I get back to that machine and put the heart in. Turning the crank, I bend down to pick up my prize.

It the gear that I need.

Finally, a little bit of luck. I put the gear in, and I climb into the boat.

It's a nice, smooth ride, but of course, my luck doesn't last.

Halfway through the ride, it breaks down. The line above me stars shaking, and I'm so sure it will snap and I'm going to fall to my death.

The ride crawls along, filling up the space. Finally, I make it to the end. I climb out as quickly as possible.

Great. Another hallway. I wonder whose hands are going to pop out at me now?

I show up in-now get this-another room.

There's a large stage in the center, showing the five of us-Me, Keith, Pidge, Hunk, and Shiro-all covered in a mixture of blood and ink. We're making really weird poses.

Spotlights shine on us, and I can see that everyone's faces are twisted in agony. The poses are all of them clutching their stomachs or holding their arms. Not mine, though. Mine is blank faced, sitting in the middle of all the pain.

I walk past it, afraid of how true it all is.

There's a miniature library past that, along with a door. It's locked, of course.

"What do you think?" I ask, turning around. There's no one there.

Right. Keith wasn't here. I studied the library. One of the books was hanging out of place.

The slight OCD that runs through everyone kicked in, and without thinking, I pushed the boo back into its place on the shelf. There's a buzzing sound behind me, and a light next to the door is shining.

So, that's how I open the door, huh?

I run around the library, pushing all the books back into place.

Finally, the door is open. Before going through, I stop in front of the stage again, hoping to study the details on our faces.

Our figures are gone.

I walk back to the door and step through, coming into what looks like an amusement park. A sign in front of me lights up, and I'm able to read it:

Castle Land

For some reason, the word "Land" is marked out and replaced with a word that I refuse to say.

So, to clear it up slightly, I will say the epidemy of "underworld."

Yeah, you got it.

I walked down the stairs and approached the haunted house. All of the lights to open the door are on, except for two.

I look around for switches, but there are none. Stumped, I slunk over to some of the games displayed. There's a sharp-shooting game, which I play.

Of course, winning the game only gets me an audience with Allura.

"Glad to see you're having fun. Well, so are we. Isn't that right?"

Her voice gets quieter at that last part, as if she's talking to someone. Then, the speakers die.

I turn around, ready to just punch that door until it opens, when I notice that one of the unconscious lights has turned on.

A door opens up to my right, almost behind me. I walk through.

I step through another door, but as soon as I do, it closes. Ok, that's freaky.

There are stairs to my left. The floor is all ink down there.

I'm about to go down, when Hunk walks past my vision. My heart stops at 1) the surprise, because he just came out of nowhere, and 2) my best friend is here.

He walks past, and I start breathing again.

I can see the other switch from here. I'm going to have to get past Hunk if I want that thing.

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How did he get past me?

I'm supposed to be able to feel the ripple of the ink when someone is walking through it!

He flipped that switch. Oh, it's on now!

He's running up the stairs. If I don't get him here, I'll lose him forever!

I'm right behind him. So close-

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"Hunk! Please!"

I cried out, watching him grow ever closer. I'm stumped for any ideas.

"Please, Hunk, you have to listen to me! You have a brother and sister! You have parents, you pilot the yellow lion! We need to save the universe!"

He slows down slightly and puts his arms down.

There's a Miracle Station behind me. I could hide from him in there.

But it looks like he's remembering these things.

Maybe I should keep going.

"Your name is Hunk. We trained at the Garrison with Pidge! We were sneaking out one night when we found Shiro and met Keith! Keith led us to the blue lion, which led us to the castle of lions-"

"Which led us to be the Defenders of the Universe," Hunk finished. The ink on his armor dripped away, and his eyes cleared up.

"Lance? What's going on?" He asked me.

NANANANANANANNANANANANNANANABATMANLINEBREAK

Ok, now Lance was hugging me.

It was weird enough that he was crying, but now he was hugging me?

"Dude, no seriously, what's going on?" I asked him.

It looked like he was about to answer, when we heard a distant banging noise. It got closer and closer, until it hit the locked door to our right. Lance grabbed my hand and led me to this thing called a "Miracle Station."

We stayed hidden in there for a while. I was about to ask why we were hiding, when ink climbed up the walls like a viper. The door opened, and Shiro stepped out.

I opened my mouth to call his name, but Lance covered it with his hand and shook his head no.

I studied Shiro more closely. His eyes were pitch black, his armor covered almost entirely in dried ink.

He glanced in our direction, and I stiffened. I could feel Lance stiffen, too.

Shiro continued staring at us for a second, then smiled and walked off. Once the ink on the walls fell, we stepped out, breathing again.

"Dude, what was that? Why did Shiro look like that?" I asked, trying to stay calm.

"Down here, Shiro is known as the "Feared One. As for why he looked like that." Lance shook his head, indicating he had no idea.

"Ok, so, where are the others? How do we get out of here?"

"Good news and bad news," he said, a small sigh escaping. "Good news, Keith and Allura are together," he said. Tears were glistening in his eyes.

"Bad news?" I asked gently. Tears started streaming down his face.

"Allura is holding Keith hostage. I have no idea how to get to them, or the others."

Allura holding Keith hostage? That's a new one. He wipes his eyes and gestures to the door.

"Come on, we should probably get going."

We leave this room, me following Lance through a winding hallway. We emerge into some kind of Funland. He walks over to this giant door and pulls a switch, opening the door.

Inside, there's a little roller coaster cart, so we climb in.

The ride starts up, and Allura's voice comes on over the speakers. Something about it is different, though. Like she doesn't care what happens to us.

"So, you brought another friend?"

Lance glares ahead of him, but he doesn't look very angry. He looks more-sad.

"Wonder how long this one will last?"

We round the corner, and there's a door with a skull painted on it. We go through and circle around the room.

"You know, maybe this will be fun. I'll enjoy watching your friends tear you to pieces."

She laughs gleefully.

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We get to the other side of the room, and are about to go through another door, when the ride starts moving backwards. Too fast.

"Lance, what do we do?" Hunk asks. I can tell he's trying not to panic.

"Jump!"

We jump out just before the cart hits the wall behind us, resulting in a crash.

I glance back towards that door, and I notice a figure standing there.

It has glowing yellow eyes, and purple skin. His ears are pointed and purple. And a little fluffy.

He steps forward, and my breath catches in my throat, nearly choking me.

"Keith?" I ask, standing.

He snarls, revealing sharp fangs. The Galra mark on his cheek duplicated and moved to the other side of his cheek. This must be what Keith would look like if he were Galra.

I reached for my bayard, fearing a fight, but I couldn't find it. I must have lost it somewhere along the way.

Keith raced towards me, and I dodged him.

"Hunk! We have to make him remember everything!"

I shout. I can't see him, but I know Hunk understands.

We team up against Keith. Hunk is on one side of him, and I'm on the other.

"Sorry about this, dude, but you leave us with no choice."

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No!

They are trying to revive his memories!

Ugh, I can't believe-

"Hunk!"

Wait. I know that name.

Hunk. He's the paladin of the yellow lion.

Lance is red. Keith is black.

I'm blue.

Perhaps Lance was telling the truth.

HAHAIUSEDTHEWRONGMEETIMEANTMEETNOTMEAT

"Hunk!"

That name. And that voice. That's Lance's voice.

He called me Keith?

"Keith! Remember how you saved me? I was running from Shiro, and you found me? You brought me to your safe house and wouldn't let me leave until I was healed!"

Yeah, I do remember that.

I stop fighting for a second, listening to what he has to say.

"Come, on! Shiro isn't a bad guy, we both know this!"

Shiro... my brother.

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He stops, listening to me. Normally, it goes he stopped listening to me, but this time, he wants to hear me talk.

Mentioning Shiro must have worked, because his skin and eyes (and ears, unfortunately) turned back to normal. The second Galra mark never went away, but at least he looked like himself.

"Shiro..." he mumbled. It felt so good to hear his voice.

Keith falls to his knees, the ink draining.

"No!"

I hear a cry from behind me and turn to see Allura standing there. She is only 3 feet from me, and I can't help but wonder how long she's been standing there, and why she hasn't attacked me yet. The ink is slowly falling from her armor.

"Lance... Keith, Hunk..."

Her eyes fill with tears as the ink completely falls.

"What have I done?"

"Nothing you would normally have done," I assure her, moving in for a hug. She gladly accepts, crying into my shoulder.

I pull away, turning my attention back to Keith.

"Hey, you alright?" I ask him. He looks up at me, a small smile on his lips.

"You-you saved me," he says.

Hunk and I help him stand up. He wobbles a little bit, but we catch him.

"Now what, Lance?" Hunk asks me. I look around at everyone.

"We save the rest," I say. I look behind their shoulders and see Pidge and Matt, watching us. The others follow my gaze.

"Come with us," Pidge says, a slight edge to her voice. There's ink on her armor, as well as Matt's.


	6. Chapter 5

A little bit of clarification and an author's note: this is not the last chapter.

I know, I know, there are only 5 chapters in Bendy, but there are a couple of things that I feel the need to explain in three other chapters after this one.

Also, I own neither Bendy nor Voltron: Legendary Defender. Please, enjoy.

MyTimeAsALineBreakIsNearlyUpWhatDoIDoWhenImFinishedWhenImUnneededAmymore

I wake up in their little cell.

Yes, Pidge and Matt put us in a cell. At least I wasn't alone anymore.

"What are you doing down here? What's going on?" Pidge asks.

Keith, Allura, and Hunk are already up. They look at me, no doubt wondering the same things.

I look down at my armor. There's a little bit of ink on it.

"Long story short, someone threatened to take my family from me, and now I'm running around down here trying to save them by getting their memories back to them," I answer her after a while. It took me a few seconds to think of my answer.

"Who did this?" asked Allura.

"And why?" Keith asked.

I shake my head. I had been wondering these same things.

Without warning, tears start streaming down my face. I can't get them to stop.

Hunk and Allura move to either side of me to comfort me, and Keith just sits at my feet.

"What's wrong?" Matt asks, a little harsh. I don't care. With all that's happening to us, I really don't blame him.

"I have come so close to losing you all," I say. No one interrupts me.

"Mostly Keith," I say, glancing at his face. There's no emotion there.

"I remember," he says. I look at him, confused.

"I remember not remembering. I mean, helping you," he says, eyes boring into mine. He smiles slightly, a sly little smile.

"You had a seriously stupid look on your face," he says simply, remembering the moment before I first saw Allura again. My cheeks redden. I can feel my face heating up.

"Oh, come on, man!" I say, smiling with him. I start laughing. Surprisingly, this makes me feel better. I wipe away my tears.

"And, yes, to answer your question: I was worried you would get yourself get killed," He said.

"Well, obviously, I didn't," I answer him. His smile grows.

"In the amount of time I couldn't help you, you managed to get so scared that you screamed like a little girl when you rounded a corner," he said, trying to fight me back. We were back in the old routine, which felt so good, I felt like crying again.

"Well, you were just there! Standing totally silent! Besides, I had just gotten the scare of my life!" I tried to defend myself. Keith was not relenting though.

"You also wouldn't stop complaining about having to collect a bunch of inky hearts. Dude, my poor ears!"

"Well, why didn't you say something?"

Silence between everyone. Keith's mouth was twitching, indicating he was trying his hardest not to smile. I could feel my mouth doing the same thing, the laughter bubbling up inside of me like a volcano ready to burst.

Finally, we couldn't take it anymore. The confused looks on everyone's faces was just too much.

The volcano erupted, our laughter spilling out across everyone like lava.

We finally calmed down, though we both now had a case of the giggles.

"Anyway," Allura started, which almost caused a second eruption. "Now that that's out of the way..."

"It's a wonder you guys are alive at all," Matt said, the edge still there. "You can't even take anything seriously!"

"Dude, come on," Pidge said, trying to calm him down. Matt just rolled his eyes and walked out the door. Pidge sighed.

"You guys get some more rest. You'll be there for a while."

HowAboutIAsALineBreakTellAStoryOfMyOwnOkSoOnceUponATimeAndImBoredNow

I will admit-it felt nice to laugh with Lance.

I did remember. Everything. It felt so good to remember my old life, the one before this place.

I also remembered Acxa. She's supposed to be here, too. So, where was she?

Lance fell asleep quickly. Not the rest of us, though. We were worried about Lance.

Crying randomly? No, not a good sign.

I explained to the others what Lance and I had been laughing about. Allura blushed when I mentioned her.

"Keith, I am really sorry about what happened," she said. I told her it was alright.

We stayed up for quite a while, catching each other up on everything that had happened.

We figured the ink was what made us forget everything. None of us could help but notice the ink starting to stick to Lance's armor. If we were right, then Lance would start losing his memories soon, too.

Allura fell asleep first, then Hunk. I stayed up a little bit longer, stroking Lance's hair.

When I had been frightened, he had leaned down and kissed me. Of course, that was embarrassing for me, but at the time, I had felt better. There was nothing romantic in the gesture. I had already been able to tell that. But Lance did it like he knew I was scared-as if I were a small child who had just had a nightmare.

I smiled, then drifted off, too.

AlrightSoIKnowIAlreadyGaveStoryWritingAShotOhManThatIsHarderThanIOriginallyThought

"We have to let them out!"

I opened my eyes. Allura was beside me, Hunk was on the floor, and Keith had fallen asleep across my stomach. We all woke up when we heard Pidge screaming.

I was wondering what was going on when I felt the room shake. Allura and Hunk bolted upright, and Keith slid off my stomach, allowing me room to get up as well.

"What's going on?" Keith asked. I recognized the ink climbing up the walls.

"Oh, no," I said. It was Shiro.

Pidge was pulling desperately at the boards that kept us locked in here. Matt put his hand on her shoulder and whispered something to her. He walked off.

She put her hands over her mouth, and I understood what he must have said to her.

"Pidge," I said. I didn't have much time.

"Pidge, you are the paladin of the green lion. You searched everywhere across the whole universe to find your brother and father. The guy you stay with, Matt? That's your brother! You were so excited when you found him! Remember?"

Her face scrunched up into a look of total concentration. After a while, the ink fell, and her eyes cleared.

"Lance," She said. "I have to get you out!"

"No time!" I shout over the noise. "Just tell us how to get out of here!"

She nods, and points to a torch in the wall.

"Pull that, open the toilet, and get out of here!" She says. The roof starts raining debris, and she hurries off. She's out that door before she can tell us anything else.

I do what she said, pulling my bayard out of the toilet. So, that's where it went.

I activate it, groaning angrily when it turns into a pipe.

"Again? ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!" I shout. Allura grabs my shoulder.

"No time, Lance! We must get out of here!"

I nod, turning to the boards. I swing with my bayard, and the boards go down as easily as they did when my bayard was an axe.

"Come on, follow me!" I shout over my shoulder. I race out the door, heading through another hallway, and make it to a literal lake of ink. We can see Pidge and Matt have already left, sailing just down the tunnel.

Thankfully, the shaking is behind us, and I know we're safe.

Or, at least, as safe as you can get in this place.

"We have to unmoor the boat."

I look around at everything. There's a lever that I can pull. I follow the wire, which is connected to another boat.

"Everyone climb in that," I say, pointing to the boat.

They obey without a word.

I pull the lever twice, which pushes the boat into water (or ink, whatever.)

I climb in with them, moving immediately to the front of the boat. I study the controls for a bit, then I push the big lever in the center of the console. The boat lurches forward, but somehow, I don't lose my footing. I can hear everyone around me fall though.

We inch forward a little more and come into this kind of room. The engine stalls for a second.

I'm just about to ask someone to go check it out when I see the giant inky hand pop out and swallow a whole other boat. The engine works again, as the hand disappears beneath the surface.

I push on ahead, groaning when the engine dies again. I hear the hand coming in from behind us.

"Lance!" Hunk calls. I turn around and see there are two ink hearts stuck in the engine.

"Keith, you keep driving. Hunk help me clear out the ink. Allura, let us know how close the hand is," I say.

Hunk and I clear away all the ink, and Keith immediately gets us moving.

"There's a platform up ahead. It seems to be connected to some kind of-community?" Keith informs me.

Ink gets in the engine again, and Hunk and I hurriedly clear it out.

"It's getting closer. About 3 dobashes, maybe," Allura says. Keith keeps the boat going steadily, buying us at least 2 more minutes.

We finally reach the platform, hurrying out of our little boat. I don't see the hand anywhere, but I'm not taking any chances.

"All clear," Keith states, and without looking, I nod.

ALotOfTimeAndEffortGoesIntoWritingAStorySometimesAuthorRunsIntoWritersBlockAndThatsTheWorst

Alright, when did Lance become such a good leader?

Whatever happened to him down here, it's obviously changed him.

He seems to really know what he's doing.

Allura, Hunk and I follow him across the room. He hasn't put his bayard away yet.

We approach a sign that reads "Not Real." I'm about to tell Lance that this spot is boarded up, and we shouldn't go in there, when I hear a terrifyingly familiar voice.

"You lied!"

A Galra sword pierced the wood blocking the entrance, and Acxa stepped out. She was in full Marmora armor, ink dripping over her face and everything. She must not remember anything if we were right about the ink.

"Acxa?" I ask, startled. Lance takes up a defensive stance, holding his bayard out in front of him.

"What did I lie about?" He asked, surprisingly calm.

"Keith isn't here!" she shouts in anger. I stare at her, surprised. What does she want me for?

She rushes at Lance, trying to take him by surprise, but he dodges easily. She comes back at him from around the back, but Lance sees that coming.

Allura and Hunk run off to try and help Lance, but I'm frozen. What would she want me for?

A memory from when I couldn't remember comes up, and suddenly, I understand.

 _I look over at Lance. His face is twisted in pain, as though remembering the other person she once was. I feel bad for him._

 _He looks over at me, and he smiles. The pain doesn't leave his eyes, but he smiles anyways._

 _"You have a girlfriend," he says. I stare at him. He smiles wider._

 _"Her name is Acxa. You guys aren't official, but she likes you, dude."_

She likes me. That's why Acxa is so desperate. She just barely doesn't remember me.

I zone back in to the battle. Lance has wiped the ink off her face, but it's smeared on her cheek. Oh, man, she looks so beautiful with that smear of ink.

She's knocked Allura and Hunk to the ground.

Neither of them is moving.

She throws down Lance, and I finally move.

"Acxa, wait!"

I grab her wrists and pull her off of Lance. She's struggling in my grip, unaware of who I am.

"Acxa, please, my name is Keith!"

She doesn't seem to hear me, so I do the only thing I can think of.

I lean in and kiss her.

She stops fighting, and I pull away slightly, mumbling so only she can hear.

"Your name is Acxa. I found you trapped in the belly of a weblum, and let you out, even though we were on opposite sides of a war. Please, try to remember me."

I feel her lips brush against mine as she whispers my name. I pull all the way back, but I keep my grip on her wrists.

"Keith? What's going on? Did you just-?"

Her face reddens as she remembers what just happened. I can feel my face burning as I replay that whole scene in my mind.

"Y-yeah."

I let go of her, turning my attention to my friends instead. Allura and Hunk are staring up at us, mouths hanging open, and Lance has the stupidest look on his face.

Lalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalaalalalalalalallalalalalalalalalallalalalalalalalalalalalalala

DID THAT SERIOUSLY JUST HAPPEN?

At first, I thought I must have been imagining it, but I had really seen that happen. The looks on Allura and Hunk's faces was proof.

Keith had just kissed Acxa. HE KISSED HER!

I looked to the only other door in the room and saw that Pidge and Matt had the same exact reactions as Hunk and Allura.

"Keith," I said, my voice trembling. "Just to let you know, I'm not laughing at you."

I lost it and burst.

Keith turned around and saw Pidge and Matt, then he saw the looks on Hunk and Allura's faces.

"Oh, come on, get a grip."

Everyone seemed to snap out of it, coming closer together to contemplate what we had just witnessed.

I was about to say something when the floor started rumbling. This made my laughter die on my lips.

"What's happening?" Asked Matt. His eyes were clear, and the ink had left him.

"The barricades," Acxa started. She looked at me in fear. "They were the only things keeping them out."

"Keeping who out?" I asked, my voice changing. I no longer felt like smiling. I felt like protecting my friends, no matter what the cost.

I pulled out my bayard, expecting a huge fight. Of course, this stupid pipe feature wasn't going to help me much.

"A pipe?" Matt asked.

"Got any other weapons?" I growled. It caught him off guard.

"No-no," he stuttered. Keith perked up.

"Lance, remember when your bayard wasn't working?" He asked me.

"Yeah," I answered. He held out his hand, indicating I hand him my weapon.

"What if that works again?"

I think for a little bit. What if what works again? Then I remembered how he had activated my bayard, turning it into this pipe.

I nod, handing him the weapon. As soon as its in his hand, it turns into an axe, and he hands it back to me.

"How did you do that?" Allura asks. Keith and I shrug, ready to fight.

Remember those living ink blob monster things? Well, that's what was attacking us.

Without words, we attacked.

RememberMySopranoWhatDidYouThinkDidYouLikeItIHopeYouDidHahahaOkStorytime

My axe cut the last of them down. Or, my bayard, really.

It had taken quite an effort to get Matt to remember everything. Eventually, he did, and we came back here to help these guys.

When Lance growled at Matt, that caught me by surprise. Lance wasn't supposed to growl at people.

When we were finished, the others looked to Lance for answers. I thought Keith was the leader of Team Voltron?

Then there's Keith. Did he seriously kiss Acxa? I think he kissed Acxa.

"Lance, what do we do now?" Hunk asked.

Lance stood there for a second, thinking.

"Pidge, where did you and Matt come in from?" He asked me.

"Over there," I said, pointing to a room located left to the boards Acxa had cut through. Lance nodded.

"We need to go that way," he said.

We all followed him in that direction. I glanced at Hunk, looking for answers, but he was just as confused as I was.

Lance stopped in the middle of the rickety boards we were walking across.

"What is it?" I asked.

He looked straight down, which gave me a feeling of acrophobia. I wasn't acrophobic, but at that moment, I felt a little dizzy.

"We need to get down there," Lance said. "It'll lead us to Shiro."

"Where is Shiro, anyway? I haven't seen him at all," said Allura. Lance's face darkened.

"Does anyone have a way down?" Lance asked. I pulled out a rope.

"Good. Let's get down there."

SorryToIntrudeAgainIHaveToBeHereSweetIsPayingMeGoodMoneyWannaKnowHowMuch

I realized I wasn't acting like myself. It must have been the ink now residing on me.

I slid down the rope last, making sure everyone got down safely.

I know they wanted answers, but I didn't have very many. I only knew so much about what was going on.

We continued on, eventually entering a room. There was a large metal gate ahead of us, a smaller room to our left, one of those cup-making machines in front of it, a miracle station to our left, and a door labeled "Film Vault" right in front of it.

I walked into the film vault, looking around. I stood in the doorway. In front of me was a bunch of pipes, with a few of them missing. To my right was a hallway, which I decided to explore. To my left was a door with a flooded hall.

"My guess is that we need to make some of those pipes to fill in the space, which will drain the hall."

I turned to my right and went down the hall.

"Been a while since I found one of these," I said to myself as I played the audio tape. I could feel the others behind me, listening as well. Matt seemed shocked to hear his voice come out of it.

"I'm finally getting somewhere with these pipes.

"At first, they were bursting left, right, and center.

"Now they only burst when we hit them too hard.

"Also, we found out about the ink machine.

"Apparently, this thing is what caused this place to get so bad!

"I think something is up with it, though.

"I think the ink that comes out of it comes to life."

Matt looked like he thought that sounded ridiculous.

"Before you say anything, let me ask you this: How would those ink things have attacked us if the machine didn't bring them to life?"

He opened his mouth, then closed it again.

"That's what I thought."

I walked back out, and into the room with the administration door. I went to the door of the little room, and let myself in.

There was nothing in here except another door, which I opened. I found a lever and pulled it. I heard Hunk mumble something about pulling switches without knowing what they did, but honestly, I didn't care. This wouldn't be the first stupid thing I've done here.

Pulling the switch opened the gate, which I walked towards.

I was about to walk through, when Keith grabbed my arm.

"What?" I asked him. He looked scared, and he was being silent. I thought he had gone back to being mute when he whispered, "Look."

I looked out into the hallway and saw one of the guys from the poster. You know, the one the dude jumped out of when Keith and I both had to pull a switch?

"That's him," I whispered back. "The one who jumped out at me."

Keith nodded. I could feel his tense body as this guy shuffled past.

"Who's him? Who's that guy?" Hunk asked worriedly.

I looked at Keith and couldn't help but think of the scared child-like person who had been following me not too long ago. He caught me looking and realized what I was thinking.

"No," he said.

"Keith, I need you guys to stay here," I said firmly, as if he was still mute. He shook his head, acting very childish.

"No! Last time you were alone with that guy, you nearly died!" He whisper-shouted.

"But I didn't!" I shot back.

"Barely!" he said. I was about to keep going when Allura spoke up.

"How about this: we split up. Keith and Lance go in there, and the rest of us stay out here," she suggested. Keith and I had a silent staring contest, but finally I relented.

"Fine, we'll do it your way," I said to her.

Keith and I turned and walked into the hall.

ImABunImABunImATastyTastyBunYouCanBakeBakeMeOhOhHowFun

It didn't take very long to find four ink hearts. Four hearts=four pipes, and four pipes=a drained stairwell.

We hadn't run into any of those guys, who were known as "The Butcher Gang."

Upon closer inspection, Keith and I realized the three of them resembled Zarkon, Haggar, and Lotor slightly.

We hoped beyond hope it wasn't really them.

We nearly made it out of that hall, but we heard running footsteps behind us. When we turned around, all three of them were after us.

"Run!" I shouted, and we bolted the rest of the way.

These guys were fast. Keith and I spotted Allura and the others, and we shouted at them to climb into the miracle station, which they did. We followed soon after.

I'm not sure how all of us were able to fit, but we did. The three of them got out into the room, and the administration door closed. They grabbed at their throats, as if trying to breathe.

Ink climbed up the walls, indicating Shiro's arrival. The Butcher Gang fell to the ground, still clutching at their throats. They each disappeared in a puddle of ink, which started climbing up the walls.

The ink seeped into the walls, and then was gone for good. We waited a little longer before leaving the safety of the Miracle Station.

"What was that?" Acxa asked.

"Shiro," I answered. Hunk, Allura, and Acxa all looked at me in surprise.

"Come on. Let's make these into pipes so we can go," I said, leading them over to the cup-maker.

I walked back into the Film Vault, placing the pipes where they needed to be. I pushed a button, and the ink drained out of the hall to our left. Once all the ink was gone, I opened the door and stepped through. There was another door, so I opened that, too. I walked into the room containing the actual vault itself.

"Now what?" Allura asked.

I walked inside the vault, searching the boxes.

Everyone just watched me.

"Lance, what are you looking for?" Keith asked.

"I'm not sure," I responded. I noticed a smaller box, and my gut told me what I needed was in there. I opened it up, but there was nothing.

"No, he must have taken it," I groaned.

"Who's taken what?" Matt asked.

Instead of answering, I turned towards the door to my right.

"Is there a way through there?" I asked.

"Yeah, but I'll need three gears, a crowbar, and some kind of counterbalance..."

Matt smiled and rolled his eyes. He walked over to the door and pushed it open.

"Huh. Well, I guess that works, too."

We walked through, and I realized that I recognized where we were.

"Wait a second..."

Keith seemed to recognize this place, too. Same with Acxa.

"This is the top level of the building. What are we doing up here?" she asked.

I walked farther down the very first hallway, but quickly stumbled upon the Shiro desk when I turned left.

"We aren't on the top level," I said. "This is a copy of that."

Allura looked at the sketch of Shiro.

"Was someone stalking him or something?" Matt asked. This got a few chuckles.

Behind the desk, instead of the family room of Shiro drawings, was a long glass window.

We walked up towards it, and Pidge whispered to be quiet.

I didn't know why she whispered that until I saw Shiro walk just outside of it. It looked like he was limping, and his face was slightly twisted in pain, like the statue, just not quite so bad.

Ink started climbing the walls again, but we crouched and crept slowly to the other side of this room.

We turned left, away from Shiro, and I stopped upon seeing a message written on the wall: Death, with an arrow pointing to the right, which (of course) was the only way for us to go.

When we got through, I could hear the collective gasps of everyone.

"This..." Matt mumbled, "This is the ink machine."

SpoilerAlertThisChapterIsInAcxaPointOfViewSoOkJustAHeadsUpBtwIdkWhatThatLastThingWas

We looked for something to use to build a small raft across, but no such luck.

"Looks like we're walking across," said Lance.

I glanced over at Keith. My lips still tingled from the kiss.

Focus Acxa.

We stepped into the ink, and I could feel my memories start to slip again. Out of reflex, I pulled back out of the ink. So did everyone else, including Lance.

"We can't," said Keith. "If any of us goes in, we lose our memories."

Lance nodded in agreement. He wasn't going to be spared, either.

I thought for a moment. An idea was coming to me, but I didn't like it. I knew none of them would like it either.

I glanced at Keith, who looked back at me. I could tell we were thinking the same thing.

I caught Allura's eyes, too. Then Pidge, Matt, and Hunk.

"Lance," I said. He turned to look at me.

"You are our only hope of getting out of here," I continued, and he saw where this was going.

"You guys, you can't," he pleaded. "You'll lose your memories again."

"But we'll get them back once you get us out of here," Keith tried reasoning with him.

Lance still looked hesitant, but we could tell he saw our point. He had to save Shiro, so he could get the rest of us out of here.

"Alright. Let's go."

SweetWantedMeToInformYouThatThisIsTheFirstSpotWhereSheThoughtConfusionWouldEnsue

It happened so quickly, I didn't even notice.

They all picked me up, carrying me between each of their shoulders. As soon as they stepped in, the ink started crawling up them.

I could feel Hunk's grip become too tight. Allura's hands slackened, as if she didn't care if I fell in or not.

Pidge and Matt didn't change much, but it felt like Acxa was now trying to tear my arm out of its socket.

And then, there was Keith. I heard him panting, but he said nothing. His grip slackened, then tightened up again.

We made it to the other side, the others climbing out of the ink quickly. They dropped me on the ground, but I stood and looked each of them in the eyes.

They were all blinking, trying desperately to hold on to any memories. The ink would drip slightly, then stop. Then, it would start again.

I nearly cried tears of joy when all the ink dripped off them.

"G-guys... no way!"

I grabbed them all in a big hug and felt immense relief when they each hugged me back. I almost didn't care that we were still trapped. I had them all.

Well, almost all of them.

I pulled away, watching as they did the same. Without words, we all continued down the hallway.

At the end was a door. There was a lever beside it, so of course we pulled it.

The door opened and revealed a pointy throne. There was an audio log on it, and TVs surrounding it.

I played the log as we all watched the screens come to life.

None of us recognized this voice, or the images coming up onto the screens.

"Thank you, for playing my game. I really hope you enjoyed it. I would not have been able to put this together, if it wasn't for the power of the Hurricane."

I looked at a screen, which displayed a girl about 13 years old, with short black hair, electric blue eyes, and a gray knee-length dress. She had what looked like wings shielding her.

"You know, I had fun putting this together. I don't know why she's never done this before."

I looked down at the throne, which had a video laying on it. I picked it up, my gut telling me that I may need it later.

"That's right, she's a not a fan of my games."

I turned back to the throne, and Shiro was standing there.

"But, of course, every game must have a winner."

The audio ended with his laughter, and Shiro started slowly advancing on us.

"Shiro, it's us. Don't do this," I tried pleading with him, but to no avail. He seemed to be growing in size with every step he took.

I realized that he WAS growing, slowly turning into what resembled a great white lion. He roared, then swatted us through a wall.

IHaveNoIdeaWhatsHappeningRightNowOMGSweetWhatDidYouDo

Shiro... was huge!

Lance passed out going through the wall.

When we got to the other side, I tried waking him up, but with no luck.

He was out cold.

I felt like I was back at the elevator, broken and in pieces around us. Allura coming up behind me, ready to capture me.

Now, someone else I cared about was after Lance. My brother was after Lance.

I looked up at Shiro, a shimmering white feline out for blood. I felt my pulse race as my anger intensified. No, Shiro. You can't have Lance.

I felt myself grow bigger as well, my senses multiplying by 10.

I roared at Shiro, his mane flying out of his face, mine being blown back by the force of my roar.

SweetHadBetterPayMeExtraForAllTheLineBreaksInThisChapter

Hunk, Acxa, Pidge, Matt and I all grabbed Lance and ran off, Keith on our tails. He turned into a lion! Well, an exact replica of an Earth Lion, except he had beautiful black fur.

He was about half Shiro's size, if not slightly bigger than half.

Keith would not be able to hold Shiro back all alone. I slipped out of Lance's grip and turned around. There was another door up ahead.

"Keep going! Keith and I will try to hold him off!" I shouted.

Keith turned and stood next to me, growling defiantly. Without knowing how, I felt myself grow to Keith's lion height.

Ok, I was slightly shorter. But hey, I was a blue lion!

AnotherOneOkSweetThisIsGettingOutOfHandNowButIWillKeepItUpBecauseMONEY

I glanced back at Allura and Keith. They both turned into lions? This was mathematically improbable!

Of course, two lions of their size would not hold up all that long against the Shiro lion. I caught Hunk's eye on my right, and we both knew what had to be done.

"Matt, Acxa!"

They stopped, turning to look at us. Acxa nodded.

"We've got this," she said. Hunk and I turned to face the battle, and we joined in.

UGHAnotherOneHowWhySweetOhWaitYoyWannaKnowMyNameHahaItWillComeUpInTheFuture

We made it through the door. There were all these pipes with flowing ink inside of them. Lance was beginning to stir.

"I've got him. Find out where we need to go next," I said to Matt. He nodded and studied the pipes.

AlrightItsTheFutureMyNameIsDonatelloImFromTheNickelodeanVersionOfTMNT

The pipes were carrying ink, which kept this place going. What happens if the ink stops making this place work?

I look at Acxa, who's trying to wake up Lance. I check out the battle going on outside, hoping Pidge stays ok. If I said safe, I would be lying to myself. There is nothing safe about our lives anymore.

"Acxa, we have to break these pipes," I say to her.

Without question, she pulls her sword and starts attacking the glass pipes, but nothing happens.

"It's no good," she says. Lance sits up, and we run over to him.

He looks out the doorway, and somehow understands what's going on.

"Lance?" Acxa asks him. He looks at her, exhaustion lacing his features, but he seems determined to finish what was started.

"What do I have to do?"

DoYouWannaKnowHowMuchSweetIsPayingMeOneHundredImagibucsWhichIsTheSameAs

Smashing stuff? Ok!

I turn into a lion (somehow) and start destroying the pipes, getting ink all over me in the process. I don't have time to worry about that, as the others are flung into this room, turning back into humans as they do.

I turn back to a human, and race for the lever that will shut off the power.

Shiro's a human again, too, and he's racing after me. I just barely reach the lever before he catches up.

The lights go out, and I can't see an inch in front of my face. The whole building has been shut down.

The lights slowly fade back on, and a door has opened up on the far corner of the room.

"Lance," Allura groans. She's helping the others up. Thank goodness they're all awake.

"Lance, finish it," Allura says, indicating the door.

I run through and wind up back in the throne room.

There's something beside it now.

The video. This thing was a video player.

I was about to put the video in, when I got the name of this game.

Bendy.

How did I not get it before? The clues were literally everywhere!

At the end of chapter 5, you defeat Bendy. But you do that by...

I turn around and see Shiro standing there, waiting for me to put the video in.

"No," say to him. He grimaces.

"No, Shiro, I'm not doing it."

I smash the video below my feet. Shiro looks at me, confused. I start walking towards him.

"Shiro, my name is Lance. I'm the paladin of the blue lion. We trained together at the castle of lions, defending the universe, defeating the Galra. You used to pilot the black lion. You once told Keith that if anything ever happened to you, you wanted him to lead Voltron. It's because of you we all stuck together," I tell him.

I'm now standing directly in front of him.

"Now, we're going to finish this thing together."

I hold out my hand, and he takes it. The ink drains from his armor, and his eyes return to normal.

"Lance," he croaks out. He falls to his knees.

I start laughing with relief. Finally, this was over.

Everyone else came into the room, and saw Shiro, now back to normal. They all ran over to join us.

"Why are we still here?" Acxa asked after a while.

"Yeah, we were supposed to have gone home," Hunk agreed.

We stopped laughing and stood up. Yeah, why weren't we home?

Each of us ran back out to the lake of ink. Nothing had changed.

"No, no we can't be stuck here," Keith started freaking out.

Everyone else started freaking out too, wondering what to do now. An idea had started forming in my head, one I knew none of these guys would agree to.

"Guys," I said. Amazingly, they all stopped talking and looked at me. I turned around to look at each of them in turn.

"I have to go in," I said, to which everyone (expectedly) started denying.

I wasn't listening, as my gut was telling me this was the only way out.

"Lance, you can't do this!" Keith said.

"In the game, when Henry died, there's this portal," I explained. I knew it would still wouldn't clear things up, but I knew what I was talking about. This all made perfect sense to me.

"But you aren't Henry," Allura complained. This just made realization dawn on all the Earthlings in the room. They each put on a determined face, now willing to accept what was happening. This didn't go unnoticed by the others, though.

"You can't be serious! What does this situation have to do with an Earth game?" She asked me.

"Shiro was Bendy," I started. "Keith was Boris, Allura was Alice, Acxa was Sammy, Hunk was the Projectionist, Pidge was Alison, and Matt was Tom."

"Which leaves you as Henry," Hunk finished. I nodded. I looked back at the ink.

"This is the only way, guys," I say.

They can't stop me as I jump into the ink.


	7. Chapter 6

Keith is walking to Lance's room.

He had been holed up in there for a while, and Keith was starting to worry about him.

He knocked and felt a flush of relief as he heard Lance's voice call out. He opened the door.

"Hey, dude," he said, sitting down on the end of Lance's bed.

"Hey," said Lance.

There was awkward silence in the room.

"Thanks again, for getting us out of there," Keith said. Lance shrugged, like it was no big deal.

Keith flashed back to when they first woke up.

The paladins all wake up on the floor of the training room in the Castle of Lions. Acxa and Matt had been watching them train.

 _Keith looked over at Lance, who was sitting up._

 _There's banging at the door, and then it opens to reveal Coran and Krolia._

 _"What's going on here?" Krolia asked, checking Keith over for any injuries._

 _Coran was helping Allura up. How were they going to explain what had happened?_

 _Keith looked his mom in the eyes. Another time, they said._

And that time was now. Everyone was already gathered in the lounge, waiting for their unusual story.

"You ready?" Keith asked. Lance smiled, and he nodded.

"Yeah," he said. "I'm ready."

HeyGuysImStillHereButMikeyIsGoingToLineBreakInTheNextStoryThatSweetNeedsUsToDo

Well, that was harrowing.

Good news, I can finally start on the chapters that answer questions! Like, how did they all keep their memories when they went through the ink? Or, what happened when Lance jumped in the ink? Maybe, why did they leave audio logs, and where did they find them, and when did they start losing their memories and all that shit?

Ok, so, I'm alright with cussing, but I've never heard any cuss words come out of Lance, Finn, or Shada's mouths so he didn't say Castle Hell.

-Sweet


	8. Authors Note

Sorry about this, but I'm ending this story here.

Good news, I'm writing a sequel to it! Yay!

The sequel is where some of the answers are going to go. Just know, however, that for all the stories I've ever written, whether for my eyes only or for you guys, I have yet to write a sequel for any of them.

To be honest, I'm surprised I finished this story in the first place.

But yeah, I'll say what happened to Lance after he jumped in the ink and everything else will be explained in pt 2: Within the Walls.

That name is not set in stone, but so far, that's it.

Thank you


	9. Chapter 7-Arrival

Hey there! Yeah, I know I said that I'm putting this stuff on a seperate story, but I felt too lazy to create another new one. F D

Hope you enjoy this freakishly short and confusing chapter!

 **Hey there remember me I'm like break**

The paladins all stood up and shook themselves off. What had happened?

They started viewing their surroundings. Where the quiznak were they?

Keith glanced over at everyone. Ok, they were all there...

Except for Lance.

Shiro sat up, rubbing his head.

"Where are we?" He groaned. He looked up and caught Keith's eye.

"Keith? What happened? Weren't we training just a few ticks ago?" he asked.

"I'm not sure, but wherever we are, Lance isn't here," Keith answered grimly.

"Wait... what?" Pidge asked, standing. She had missed the majority of the two paladin's conversation, but she managed to catch that last part.

Hunk noticed a sign on the wall.

"Joey Drew Studios?" He asked.

"Joey drew what?" Pidge asked him, looking where Hunk was looking.

"I think that's the name of this place," Keith said. He looked down at Shiro, offering a hand. Shiro took it gratefully.

"Guys! Finally, you're awake!" Allura said, rounding the corner.

"Allura?" Shiro asked. She nodded, a grim expression on her face.

"I've been exploring. So far, I've found a room full of recording devices," She said, handing everyone a couple of audio logs.

"If we explore the whole place while leaving these behind with notes, we should be able to get our bearings," Allura said. Acxa spoke up.

"Wait. We just got here, just now woke up, we have no idea where we are, and we're missing a paladin. Don't you think we're rushing things?" Acxa asked her.

"Yes, but the quicker we explore the place, the quicker we can get out of here," Allura answered.

"I've deduced this place to at least five different sections. I'll take section 3," Allura said.

"I'll stay up here, in case Lance shows up," Keith said. Acxa decided she would stay with him.

Pidge wanted to head to section 5, and Matt, being an overprotective big brother, decided he would go with her. Hunk said he would start on section 2, then head down to sections 4 and 5. Shiro wanted to stay up here and explore a little bit, then he would go to all the other sections.

"It's agreed then: we each head to our sections, leave a couple of notes, and rendezvous back up here," Allura said. They all nodded and headed out.

None of them knew that it would be a while before they saw each other again.

 **Another note real short**

Short note, short chapter... wow. I have to step it up. But school is murder.

Yours in demigoddeshness and all that, vrepit sa my Holy Chalupas!


End file.
